3 replies to this topic

[Simon]

A client wants to develop (or hopefully get our consultancy to develop) their own Marine GeoPortal website.

Im not sure who invented the word GeoPortal, but Ill define it as:

a website that allows users to view data with the aid of map services, and to download datasets/documents, perhaps by spatial searches or just visualise the data on the map services.

Thats probably not the best definition but you get the idea.

So, the client has asked us to review all of the existing webGIS/GeoPortals that are out there on the internet (ideally to do with marine data) and some-how produce an objective comparison between the sites based on criteria such as:

• Functionality
• Usability
• Security
• Etc.

Ive compiled a list of some of the more common sites I know about, for example:
MAGIC
MESH
MPA
FishOceans Canada

This is just a portion of my list, but the general trend was ArcIMS style mapping services based on IIS/ASP platforms.

I saw one example of ArcGIS Server but it was not a portal, just showed some marine datasets, no background database holding searchable metadata, no way to download the datasets, etc.


So why am I posting?

1. Can you think of any good "GeoPortal" websites that I should be adding to my list?

2. Personally I think that the above examples are becoming a bit outdated and that I should be perhaps thinking about how I can create a better GeoPortal than any of them, by having a better map service, something such as ArcGIS Server/Mapserver linked in with Google Maps/MS VE or sonmething similar. Has anyone seen examples like this?

3. Just general ideas and thoughts surrounding what ive just said also welcome.


Thanks - hope to promote some good discussion here - id imagine there are a mixed variety of "geo-people" who visit this forum.

[CHART]

DBx Geomatics

[frax]

The two softwares that I am aware of are GeoNetwork and ESRI's portal toolkit.

[gis_mayotte]

Geonetwork is for Metadata information.
Works well for what it does but not very interactive for a wider public;